Dare to be great!

Went to the gym again this morning. Did 55 minutes on the eliptical then 20 minutes on the bike. Still waiting on running, it is very tempting to try a few miles but I resisted, the marathon is less than 2 weeks away and if I am going to be able to run I need to have this achilles thing all better. I tried to push it on the machines this morning so hopefully I don't lose too much fitness.

I couldn't take it any more and decided to test the foot out on a run this afternoon.  My foot actually felt really good so I am very encouraged by this.  I still did not push it very much so I don't know how it will respond to more mileage but for now I am happy.  1st mile 8:41, testing it out, 2nd mile 8:14, still good, 3rd mile 7:36 still feeling good.  I was very tempted to keep cranking out some quality miles but with the Ogden Marathon so close I will play it smart for now.  Got back to the house and pumped up the tires on the mountain bike and went back out for a 30 minute ride.  If I am not getting the mileage in at least I am getting in the time my workouts call for.  I've got to keep the faith my past workouts will carry me through.  It was nice a toasty outside this afternoon, felt good to sweat a bit.

Nice run around the hood AP 8:07, foot felt great, I am tempted to extend my mileage tomorrow to see how it feels.  My back is still pretty tight and gives me some pain.  Geez I sound like a huge whiner the last couple weeks.  It was actually pretty nice run this afternoon but did not want to push my luck.

Had a pretty good run this morning.  Went to the canal trail by the house. 1 mile warm up 8:47, then 3 miles at tempo pace to see how the legs felt, 7:04,7:13,7:07, 1.2 miles back to the house 8:20.  The first mile of the tempo was hard, I have to get used to running harder again, 2nd mile I eased off a little and tried to get into a groove, 3rd mile started to feel good.  I still don't want to overdo anything.  I will try to get some extra miles in later.

Lunch:Went with Blake, Terry, and Jason to Liberty Park during our lunch. Felt really good this afternoon. First 1.5 7:26 pace, second 1.5 7:07 pace.  jogged back to finish with the rest of the guys.  Everything felt pretty smooth this afternoon, good times.

Went out with Spencer and a neighbor Casey this morning. It was nice to run with Spencer before he went to school. It also kept my pace honest as today is a recovery day for me. Spencer (9) did great, however he said Casey was "huffing and puffing like a choo-choo train." It will hopefully motivate him to get out more so a 9 yr. old doesn't tease him anymore.

Went to the JRP for the last longer run before the marathon next Sat.  I didn't want to push it, just wanted to keep it nice and relaxed and test this old body out.  Didn't feel too bad, didn't feel excellent but not too bad.  AP 7:58  Went south from the iron bridge, to the end of the trail then still south into Saratoga.  Turned around and came home.  I am glad my achiles did not give me any problems.  I had some phantom pains around but it is most likely all in my head, just felt out of synch past 8 miles.  Did the last mile in 7:36 and didn't feel bad.  Lungs were fine the whole time. Time to get a game plan together for next weekend.